Luton 2-6 Man City: Player ratings as Haaland nets five to hammer Hatters

Manchester City eased into the FA Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday evening, beating Luton Town 6-2 at Kenilworth Road thanks to five goals from striker Erling Haaland.

The Cityzens put the game out of sight following a rampant first-half display, Haaland netting a 41-minute hat-trick thanks to three fabulous Kevin De Bruyne assists.

Jordan Clark did pull two back for Luton to offer a glimmer of hope, but that was quickly extinguished by Haaland, who grabbed another double shortly after the break. Mateo Kovacic then put the icing on the cake with 20 minutes to play, hammering home Man City's sixth from range.

How the game unfolded

Luton will have been slightly fearful walking out at Kenilworth Road given the sheer quality in the Man City side, with the likes of John Stones, De Bruyne and Haaland all starting for the reigning FA Cup champions.

Those fears were merited after just three minutes, with Haaland wasting no time in giving Man City the lead. Unsurprisingly, it was De Bruyne who set the Norwegian colossus up, pulling the ball back for the 23-year-old to slam home from close range after wriggling free of Teden Mengi.

It was the same combination that doubled the visitors' advantage just before the 20-minute mark, with Pep Guardiola's side repeatedly slicing open their hosts in the early stages. Haaland's lay off found De Bruyne just inside the Hatters' half and the Belgian fizzed an inch-perfect through-ball beyond the Luton backline, with the Man City forward firing beyond the onrushing Tim Krul.

Haaland should have completed his hat-trick with 25 minutes on the clock following Jack Grealish's incisive through-ball, but Krul was able to make himself big and deny the Man City centre-forward. De Bruyne also saw an effort rebuffed following a slick move, with Haaland firing the rebound straight down the throat of the Dutch goalkeeper.

However, it didn't take long for Haaland to grab his third and the architect was De Bruyne once again. The midfielder slid another fantastic pass beyond the Luton defence, with Haaland showing wonderful composure to dink over Krul.

Clark reduced the deficit before half-time with a superb long-range effort bent beyond Stefan Ortega from 30 yards, before grabbing a surprise Luton second shortly after the break. The midfielder latched on to a lovely chipped ball behind the Man City defence and fired a fantastic strike into the roof of the net.

But Luton's dream of a historic comeback was cut short just three minutes later, De Bruyne sliding a ball across goal for Haaland to tap into an empty net. Unbelievably, the striker grabbed his fifth of the game just two minutes later, lashing a fierce effort at goal that squirmed past Krul.

Carlton Morris and Ross Barkley saw efforts well stopped by Stefan Ortega at the other end, with Tahith Chong somehow not converting from two yards out following a Luton corner.

Kovacic would then make Luton pay for their profligacy with a thumping long-range effort that flew beyond Krul, capping what was a stellar display from Man City in a truly astonishing FA Cup classic at Kenilworth Road.

Luton player ratings (5-2-3)

GK: Tim Krul - 5/10 - Made some strong stops despite repeatedly picking the ball out of his own net. Should have done better with Haaland's fifth.

RB: Chiedozie Ogbene - 4/10 - Couldn't offer any threat for Luton going forward and was part of a disastrous defensive display.

CB: Reece Burke - 3/10 - Just a woeful day at the office for Luton's centre-halves, who were mauled by Man City's forward line. Burke wasn't the worst of the bunch, but he certainly struggled.

CB: Teden Mengi - 2/10 - Simply couldn't handle the pace and physicality of Haaland, who frequently drew him towards the centre circle before sprinting in behind the centre-back. A bad, bad night for the former Manchester United defender.

CB: Amari'i Bell - 4/10 - Ran ragged by Haaland and De Bruyne before being withdrawn due to injury. He will have been more than slightly relieved to have been substituted after just 39 minutes.

LB: Alfie Doughty - 5/10 - Offered some slight attacking threat going forward, although his delivery was lacking.

CM: Ross Barkley - 7/10 - A really positive display from the midfielder, who provided a delightful assist for Clark's second of the game.

CM: Jordan Clark - 8/10 - Two fantastic strikes, although they were sadly meaningless come full-time.

AM: Carlton Morris - 6/10 - Played off Woodrow for the majority of the game but looked much sharper when he moved up front.

AM: Tahith Chong - 6/10 - A spirited outing from the 24-year-old, who showed glimpses of quality in advanced areas.

ST: Cauley Woodrow - 5/10 - Provided very little service and was hooked after half-time to move Morris further forward.

Substitutes

SUB: Joe Johnson (39' for Bell) - 4/10 - A tough introduction for the youngster, who was guilty of losing Haaland for Man City's third just a minute after he came off the bench.

SUB: Andros Townsend (56' for Woodrow) - 6/10

SUB: Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu (62' for Clark) - 5/10

SUB: Daiki Hashioka (62' for Ogbene) - 5/10

Subs not used: James Shea (GK), Gabriel Osho, Zack Nelson, Luke Berry, Axel Piesold.

Manager

Rob Edwards - 5/10 - A truly bonkers game at Kenilworth Road and his side's attacking display will offer him hope. But his defenders were absolutely obliterated, plain and simple.

Man City player ratings (4-1-4-1)

GK: Stefan Ortega - 6/10 - Produced some strong stops to deny Luton's attackers, but his error led to Clark's second of the evening.

RB: Kyle Walker - 6/10 - Caught a few times defensively, but wasn't tested all too often.

CB: John Stones - 8/10 - After a top display against Bournemouth, he was in his element again here. Stepped into midfield, broke through the Luton press and was typically fantastic in possession.

CB: Manuel Akanji - 8/10 - Helped force the opener with his driving run and brilliant pass. Such a classy presence at the back.

LB: Nathan Ake - 7/10 - Played Clark onside for Luton's second but was an otherwise solid outing.

DM: Mateo Kovacic - 8/10 - Even tucked in his shirt in an attempt to resemble Rodri, but the Croatian had very few opportunities to imitate the Spaniard defensively. Scored a beauty to cap a great team display.

RM: Matheus Nunes - 7/10 - Interchanged with Bernardo Silva in central areas and made some good forward runs to support the Man City attack.

CM: Bernardo Silva - 7/10 - Weaved in and out of different roles in the City team with little fuss. Facilitated his side's devastating attacking display.

CM: Kevin De Bruyne - 10/10 - Looked in the mood from the first kick and his movement, passing and positional intelligence caused Luton nightmares. Simply unstoppable.

LM: Jack Grealish - 6/10 - Visibly distraught as he limped off the pitch with yet another injury concern just before the break. Hadn't been too involved before his withdrawal.

ST: Erling Haaland - 10/10 - An absolutely frightening performance from the striker, who bullied Luton's centre-backs from start to finish. Five goals, just ridiculous.

Substitutes

SUB: Jeremy Doku (39' for Grealish) - 7/10 - A livewire after coming on, just lacking a little end product.

SUB: Rico Lewis (77' for Stones) - 6/10

SUB: Julian Alvarez (77' for Haaland) - 6/10

SUB: Oscar Bobb (77' for Silva) - 6/10

SUB: Sergio Gomez (77' for Ake) - 6/10

Subs not used: Ederson (GK), Ruben Dias, Rodri, Phil Foden.

Manager

Pep Guardiola - 8/10 - It couldn't have been an awful lot simpler for his side for the majority of the game. Probably could have won the match with just De Bruyne and Haaland on the pitch.

Player of the match - Erling Haaland (Man City)

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